COMMENTARY: Corruption at the CCJ?

Cabral Douglas

“Hostile, emotional and irrational…” are just some of the unsavoury adjectives used by Emile Ferdinand QC to describe me in a recent interview.  Indeed, the senior Caribbean jurist came out swinging in defence of Sir Dennis Byron, and his colleagues at the CCJ, in defence against corruption allegations levelled against them by me in a recent WINFM interview.

In the interview I called the integrity of the court into question due to several irregularities arising from the most absurd decision in the Tommy Lee Sparta  matter  where the court ruled the private entity who contracted to receive entertainment services from a Jamaican firm in a sector approved by the heads of government, has no standing at the CCJ to bring a lawsuit against Dominica.

The government of Dominica without just cause, decided to deny entry, arrest, detain and deport, Tommy Lee and his Jamaican entourage, causing the cancellation of the concert the Applicant was hosting at his privately owned entertainment venue in Portsmouth, Dominica.

According to Mr. Ferdinand in his defence of the integrity of the court, when Sir Dennis Byron was President of the International  Criminal Trubunal on Rwanda he would regularly meet with United Nations officials therefore there is nothing irregular or abnormal about Sir Dennis Byron meeting with the heads of government, in Guyana.

I must say that I was quite shocked to hear such an eminent legal luminary from our region putting forward such a ridiculous argument.

The UN Security Council is the body that set up the International Criminal Tribunal in Rwanda, and were responsible for its administration, so yes, it would be normal for Sir Dennis Byron to update them, but in this case, Cabral Douglas v Dominica, Dominica is the Defendant in the case!!!

In other words, they are the ones that are on trial…

Is Mr. Ferdinand QC suggesting that it would be normal/acceptable for Sir Dennis Byron to privately meet with the African warlords on trial for committing genocide and other crimes against humanity while the trial was in progress?

How could it be normal/acceptable for any judge at any level to be meeting with a Defendant in a case, while the case is in progress/pending? Then to make matters worse, in this instance, Sir Dennis Byron announces that the court will be ruling in favour of the Defendant, on the most dubious grounds I might add, on the very same morning of that meeting!!!

What you are seeing is the appearance of corruption at the highest level, which brings the CCJ as a court into disrepute, and has absolutely nothing to do with sour grapes on the part of the Applicant, as suggested by Emile Ferdinand, QC.

Sir Dennis Byron knows very well that he could never do that in the white man’s court, and this is exactly what I referred to as the “slave” mentality in my case Commentary entitled: Nothing Could be Further From the Truth.

If Sir Dennis Byron had embroiled himself in such shenanigans in a white man’s court, he is too educated and experienced not to know that a mistrial would be declared immediately, he would be investigated and removed from the case, and the case would be tried over again, causing a big scandal, and a loss of confidence in the court by the public.

But because of the slave mentality which has been internalized by our legal fraternity in the region, instead of seeking to maintain the integrity of the court by calling for the immediate resignation of Sir Dennis Byron, you hear prominent QC’s telling the people of the Caribbean that judges meeting with Defendants during trials against them is normal!?!

On what planet is that normal???

In any credible court in the civilized world there would be at least an investigation into this by an impartial commission.

And, for those like Emile Ferdinand QC and others who argue that our regional court is credible and no different from the Privy Council in England, here is your big chance to prove it by joining me in holding the CCJ to the same standard that the the Privy Council and other credible courts around the world are held to, which is exactly what I’m calling for here.

For starters: In what capacity did Sir. Dennis Byron attend the CARICOM heads of government meeting? Was the pending case discussed at the meeting? Did Sir Dennis Byron meet with Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit privately? Did Sir Dennis Byron meet with CARICOM Secretary General, and Dominican national, Irvin LaRocque? If so, was the case discussed? Did Roosevelt Skerritt and/or LaRocque have an undue influence on the decision?  Is there any significance to the fact that the decision was announced in the very morning of the 16th of February 2017 when the meeting took place?

If Sir Dennis Byron is asking Caribbean countries to delink from a century old credible institution of Justice like the Privy Council in favour of the CCJ, on the premise that the CCJ is a credible court, then I think it would be reasonable to expect him to start conducting the affairs of the court in a credible and transparent manner, in order to earn the confidence of the people of the region.

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Sir Dennis Byron (l) in conversation with PM Skerrit and others

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28 Comments

  1. Pwc
    April 4, 2017

    Dats why wi can’t have nice things

  2. Let The Truth Be Told - Original
    April 3, 2017

    You assume the CCJ is corrupted. What do you mean without just cause? A gov’t. of a country has the right to admit or refuse entry to questionable characters and T.L Spartan is one. Furthermore, he was out on bail for murder.
    It would have been held at your privately owned entertainment venue. What was the difference whether it would have been held there or not? The issue was, think of the youths he would be entertaining.
    It has nothing to do with slavery mentality. You lean too much on slavery. The case would not have gone to Court even though it was “a white man’s court.” In the white man’s country, the government has a right to refuse a man as Tommy Lee Spartan entry on the grounds as cited.
    Note Chris Brown was refused entry to Canada and some other countries. As far as I know nationals did not object. Did he or his lawyer file a case against those countries?
    Cabral, you knew the majority of D/cans did not want him. Yet you encouraged him. Why?

    • Blow the Whistle
      April 4, 2017

      These Caribbean jurist are boldface with their corruption!!!

  3. Noreen C. Edwards
    April 3, 2017

    The CCJ isn’t working for the people /citizens.

  4. Anonymous
    April 3, 2017

    Ou soute’? “system-la pas ni bonda!”

  5. The Darkness
    April 3, 2017

    How far will the corruption go you ask? Very!

    This is what we get for being America’s number 1 fans… You fools…

    Follow their systems still, base your lives of their false doctrines. See how far you get.

    If i recall, we were originally the Commonwealth of Dominica… now its more like mini-state 56 of the US of A’s…

  6. Tj
    April 3, 2017

    Is it not time that we rid ourselves of the privy council? Don’t we trust ourselves to govern ourselves?

  7. Mistrial
    April 3, 2017

    Judges should not be meeting with defendants or plaintiffs during legal proceedings, this is a mistrial, obviously!!!

  8. April 3, 2017

    I don’t understand why Cabral want to pump 3 million dollars from us eh!

  9. Privy Council the worlds most credible court
    April 3, 2017

    I don’t see why any Caribbean country would give up the most credible court in the world (Privy Council) to have their case decided by a bunch of corrupt politicians….

    • Scampy
      April 3, 2017

      The CCJ (‘Caribbean Court Joke’) is corrupt indeed. They are happy to have drinks and smiles with the corrupter in chief whilst no justice prevails for a former Chief Magistrate of Dominica who survived an attempt on his life and who had millions stolen from his law practice.

  10. BEB
    April 3, 2017

    Cabral , u will have to will and come again. Dominica do not have that money to give away for ur client

    • wheel and come again
      April 3, 2017

      They have already agreed to pay Tommy Lee, its CABRAL they don’t want to pay….hmmmm

  11. April 3, 2017

    Cabral, my good man, give it a rest, will you?

  12. FORKIT
    April 3, 2017

    CABRAL you are right… the CCJ is not impartial, not trust worthy, not fair, political in nature and they will dance to the tune of caricom leaders… burn back bitters…

  13. Me
    April 3, 2017

    Hear, hear!

  14. :mrgreen:
    April 3, 2017

    If Cabral had won his case, I wonder what he would be saying about the CCJ.

    • No standing
      April 3, 2017

      Cabral did not lose his case, the CCJ refused to hear his case, big difference!!!

  15. Not a herd follower
    April 3, 2017

    I have always thought the decision of the CCJ that Mr. Douglas had no legal standing in the case as bizarre.

  16. No Confidence Motion in CCJ!
    April 3, 2017

    Wow, Dominica joining the CCJ is a huge setback for Justice!!!

  17. Danny
    April 3, 2017

    If I recall Kabral was very much in favor of the CCJ. If Kabrsl is looking for sympathy I have none to spare cause when peolle like Kabral, Gabriel Christian etc were needed during the 2014 election they went into hiding while silently undermining the opposition.
    Rain na fall upon one man house top so take your whooping Kabral.

    • Justice
      April 3, 2017

      I don’t think Cabral is looking for sympathy, I seems like he is looking for Justice and why wouldn’t he?

  18. KaliBud
    April 3, 2017

    Oh Cabral, give it a rest. Every country has the right to refuse entry to anyone for any reason. And yes u can sue. And yes it doesn’t always work out in your favor. But u do sound like u’re bitter, by the way u talk about our last instrument of independence. What were the previous decisions? Surely this must have been some kind of appeal. U so bitter u literally begging for massa come back. What happened in the lower courts??? And hell no….I don’t want no white man court. I rather get beaten by my own brother, we may reconcile.

    • Myrie
      April 3, 2017

      If any country has the right to refuse entry, why did the government settle Tommy Lee’s case but not Douglas’???

      See Myrie v Barbados, all CARICOM citizens have a right of entry and stay if 6 months in any CARICOM ciountry…

  19. oh snap
    April 3, 2017

    Hate him or love him, the man makes sense

  20. SN
    April 3, 2017

    What Mr. Douglas has describe does support the inference of judicial tampering and it is disturbing a judge would taint the public’s perception of his impartiality. Now, as to the CCJ ruling that Mr. Douglas, as a party to a contract, has no standing to sue the government of Dominica for the torts of interfering with contractual relations and interfering with a prospective economic advantage, the CCJ is wrong because an injured party, which Mr. Douglas is, is a proper plaintiff. If the CCJ judges are not appointed for life and are dependent on government for appointment, impartiality may be compromised due to fear of not being re-engaged as a judges when they rule unfavorably to the appointing governments.

  21. A Dominican in the UK
    April 3, 2017

    i smell rotten fish in the ccj

  22. Bruce Leeroy
    April 3, 2017

    hmm

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